Brother Music Vinyl & CDs

Review: Almost 40 years has passed since Danish duo Laid Back - they of "Sunshine Reggae" and "White Horse" fame - released their debut single. The pair is still going strong all these years later, offering up sun-kissed Balearic synth-pop shot through with gentle reggae rhythms and just the right amount of dub-wise special effects. "Healing Feeling", their first album for almost six years, uniformly hits the spot via languid, loved-up cuts that wrap their evocative, glassy-eyed vocals and jazzy guitar solos around horizontal grooves and sunset-ready synth sounds. There are occasional up-tempo missives scattered across the album - see "Enjoy The Vibes" and the AOR disco chug of their "House Of The Rising Sun" cover - but even these sound like they were recorded through a thick haze of ganja smoke.

Review: When this inimitable Danish duo of John Guldberg and Tim Stahl released Cocaine Cool last year, it was billed as being one of many uncompleted and unreleased songs from the same era as their seminal disco jam "White Horse". Cosyland is the completion of that excavation, and the results are everything you'd hope for. The title tune is a slow and oceanic arpeggio-fest the likes of Terje and Joakim would kill to make, while "101" is simply jay-droppingly expansive. A real treat from 1981 that sounds as contemporary as any nu-disco out there today.

Review: Danish veterans Laid Back (they of "White Horse" and "Sunshine Reggae" fame) are still going strong, some 32 years after releasing their first album. Their longevity has much to do with their impeccable Balearic credentials. Newcomers and old fans alike should enjoy Uptimistic Music Vol 1 & 2, a two disc set of new material in their distinctive style - a decidedly horizontal blend of reggae, hazy jazz-funk, subtle synth-pop and warm blue-eyed soul, with vocals that flit between gravelly Chris Rea-esque AOR growl and half-whispered seductiveness. Of course, it doesn't all hit the mark - "Time To Live" sounds like Pages From Ceefax for the Balearic generation - but for the most part Uptimistic Music is a quietly joyous triumph. And, yes, it's definitely Balearic.